It is distressing, at least to economists, how many problems could be solved by adopting basic market principles yet those solutions are ignored or stridently opposed by the very people who would benefit from them. California’s drought is one of those: California actually has plenty of water, it is just poorly priced.
Another is traffic congestion. Brookings economist Anthony Downs wrote a whole book about congestion that concluded there was no solution to the problem–except, almost parenthetically, congestion pricing which Downs decided was politically impossible. Of course, that’s a self-fulfilling prophecy because if no one argues for something because it’s impossible, it will truly be impossible.
